Rubio: Syria devolving into ‘full-scale civil war of epic proportions’ is imminent, despite U.S. removing sanctions

A woman waves the flag of the Syrian rebels as people gather to celebrate the fall of the government, in Umayyad Square on December 8, 2024 in Damascus, Syria.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that Syria may be just weeks away from a “full-scale civil war,” which comes less than a week after President Donald Trump met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

“It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they’re facing, is maybe weeks, not many months, away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up,” Rubio stated.

Trump’s meeting with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia resulted in the United States waiving sanctions from Syria for 180 days — in an attempt to help stabilize the country.

“The lifting of the sanctions, its most immediate impact will be to allow neighboring countries to begin to assist the transitional authority to build governance mechanisms that allow them to actually establish government, unify the armed forces under one banner,” Rubio continued, noting that the lifting of sanctions “won’t be enough” to stabilize the war torn nation.

Marco Rubio presents the pros and cons of working with the new Syrian regime, acknowledging that it may collapse, and Syria could go through a civil war. pic.twitter.com/J98MwGPKAv

— Praying Medic (@prayingmedic) May 20, 2025

Al-Sharaa led the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which is a “militant group” that toppled the Assad regime after over 14 years of civil war. Al-Sharaa was also previously a member of Al Qaeda, who fought against U.S. forces in Iraq, prior to renouncing his past ideology of transnational jihadism. He now labels himself as a reformed moderate option for the nation of Syria.

However, Rubio presented an alternative perspective on the issue.

“The bad news is that the transitional authority figures – they didn’t pass their ‘background checks’ with the FBI,” Rubio stated. “On the flip side of it, if we engage them, it may work out, [though] it may not work out. If we do not engage them, it was guaranteed to not work out.”

Rubio warned that if a collapse in Syria is imminent, the nation could transform into a “playground, frankly, for jihadist groups like ISIS and others.”